About Oblique Pen Holders

This blog post is *the* blog post I wish I could have read two years ago, when I was considering purchasing an oblique pen holder. I couldn’t find any information about which one to buy, or how to use it after I bought it! So — whether you’re just starting calligraphy or have been practicing for some time, I hope you find this information useful, like I would have.

When I first made up my mind to learn calligraphy, I noticed a lot of photos of beautiful envelopes with a very strange-looking calligraphy pen. After a lot of Google Image research, I figured out this tool is called an “oblique pen holder”. However, there didn’t seem to be much information about why it is in existence or how to use it. Nevertheless, after I had used a straight holder for a while, I worked up the courage to try a plastic Speedball oblique pen holder. With the pen holder came a little bit of frustration at first, but eventually I got the hang of it — even going so far as to write this blog post over how to use one. Little did I realize my journey with the oblique pen holder was just beginning at that point!
I would like to spare you the trial-and-error that I experienced in my calligraphy development by giving you the information I would have loved to have when I was first beginning with the oblique pen holder.

First of all, according to Dr. Joseph Vitolo’s article Script in the Copperplate Style: Demystifying the Oblique Penholder, the oblique calligraphy pen was originally developed for right-handed calligraphers to achieve a better angle/slant while writing. Basically, if you’re right-handed {as I am}, you’ll notice that when you try to write with a beautiful right slant using a straight calligraphy holder, it’s difficult to put even pressure on both tines of your nib. In general, your right tine will drag and cause a ragged edge; and other issues may arise from that uneven pressure, like your nib snagging on the paper. That’s where the oblique pen comes in: it ensures an even distribution of pressure through a modification of the position of the nib.

Okay, so for all my lefties out there: don’t throw up your hands in despair at righties getting preference here. The truth is, biologically you’re better off than right-handed people if you want to create slanted script. The way you are able to hold your straight pen makes it such that a right slant is quite achievable without an oblique holder. Now, if you were doing a left slant, that would be a different story … but left slants are rarely seen in calligraphy. There are oblique calligraphy pens designed specifically for you — pens you should consider owning — but I’ll expound on that in a few paragraphs.

Now that I’ve explained the “why”, let’s move on to discussing which oblique pen holder is right for you. As I mentioned, I started off with this plastic oblique pen holder:

This holder was appealing to me because, I mean, I was new the world of oblique holders; and the cost {about $1.50} was quite seductive. What I didn’t realize at the time is I was not doing myself any favors by using this pen. Don’t get me wrong: I know a lot of people do use this pen, and you should use what works for you — so, if you use and love it, power to you! I truly was in that camp before I tried different oblique pen holders. For now, let me explain why this pen can be difficult to use both for a beginner and an advanced calligrapher.

Look at the pen from the side: the nib is at the same angle as the holder.

This means that when you use the oblique, your nib is going to be positioned at a severe angle in relation to the paper. For beginners, that will mean, as Dr. Vitolo puts it: “difficulty writing, excessive nib ‘scratchiness’, and ultimately frustration.” I never did get too frustrated with the Speedball pen holder, but now I realize that I did have trouble achieving a nice slant. Because of the severe angle of the nib, I mostly got the same results that I would have gotten with a straight holder — though I would have vehemently denied this in the past! Also, I noticed I got pretty tired using the pen. To achieve the correct angle and prevent snagging, a person has to grip the pen further away from the tip. The result is a natural loss of control and, effectively, a tensed-up pose to regain that control {which explains why I would get pains in my shoulders and back}. Ultimately, I was adjusting myself to fit the quirks of a $1.50 pen.

Eventually, Rodger Mayeda of Rodger’s Pen Box came across the TPK blog; and, upon realizing I did not have a proper oblique pen, he hesitantly asked if he could send me a prototype of his artisan-made oblique pen holder, just to try.

I think he realized that I was in what I thought to be a loving relationship with my plastic oblique holder, and he didn’t want to insist. Of course, I was curious about this new contender for my hand {ha!}, and I acquiesced to trying out an “RPB” oblique pen holder.

I won’t lie to you: for the first few minutes of trying to use an RPB oblique, I was confused and frustrated. The angle of the nib was so foreign to me after being used to the Speedball. I realized after a while that my problem was trying to maintain the same death grip with this holder that I maintained while using my plastic oblique pen. Once I loosened up a little bit, the pen was a dream to use. I quickly became addicted to RBP pens, and now I have three different obliques, all custom-fitted for different nibs.

The reason these work better for me is their angle to the paper. My favorite nib for the past few months has been the Brause EF66, so let’s look at that one:

Do you notice how the nib does not share the same steep angle as the holder itself {unlike the plastic oblique}? That’s the secret to comfortable, beautiful writing. The angle of the nib minimizes catching on the paper, and makes it easier for you to write in a fluid, uninterrupted fashion.

Another thing to note is the nib’s relation to the bottom of the holder. Let’s say you have an imaginary dotted line extending down the middle of the holder. That dotted line should touch — or nearly touch — the very tip of the nib for optimal balance when writing. Note how this looks on one of my artisan pens:

As you can see below, the plastic Speedball oblique pen holder doesn’t perform too well with this requirement — at least, not with the Brause Rose nib. In fact, it only did fulfill this requirement with my tiniest nib: a Joseph Gillott’s Lithographic 890, shoved too far in the holder.

As far as how to use an oblique calligraphy pen, I think a video will probably say more than paragraphs of explaining can:

When it boils down to it, an oblique pen with a metal flange* will cost you more than a plastic oblique pen because there’s more work required on the maker’s part. However, it’s well worth it. If you’re unable to procure a Rodger’s Pen Box pen (he sells out within hours every month!), here are my recommendations for other pens, organized by the nib they were made for:

Leonardt EF Principal: Speedball Deluxe Oblique Holder {$16.50, Item Number H95} – Note that you’ll need to specify that the holder should be fitted for a Principal nib.

*The flange is the protruding part that holds the nib.

One oblique pen holder that mystifies me is the left-handed oblique pen. As I said before, lefties are naturally “set up” for the right angles we love in copperplate and Spencerian-type scripts; but life can be made a little bit easier for a leftie with a left-handed oblique holder. Some will say that a left-handed oblique holder is unnecessary, but I defer to Rodger’s expert opinion: “To achieve the correct slant {with a straight calligraphy pen}, most left-handed people will need to move the pen away from his or her body, or they can tuck their elbow in closer to their body. However, with a left-handed oblique pen, this repositioning isn’t necessary. So: while the conventional thought that a left-handed person doesn’t really need to use an oblique is true, a left-handed person will experience a more comfortable writing posture if they do use a left-handed oblique.”

So: that’s my spiel on oblique pen holders, and I really hope I didn’t make you glaze over with all this calligraphy “geekiness”. I wish someone would have spelled things out like this for me when I was beginning, so I hope I’ve caught you at a good time for learning!

If you have any questions, please let me know below! Remember, there are always exceptions: some right-handed calligraphers have a strong dislike of oblique pens. Some left-handed calligraphers love using right-handed oblique pens. A significant number of right-handed calligraphers use left-handed oblique pens to flourish with. Everything boils down to personal preference! While you’re pondering that, a great resource for further reading {and lots of learning!} is Dr. Vitolo’s free 86-page eBook, Script in the Copperplate Style. I don’t understand why it’s free because it’s amazing and he clearly worked very hard on it; but, since it is free, I encourage you to take advantage of the situation and download it!

We’ll talk again on Wednesday, at which point the Janet Style worksheet set + add-ons will be released {wahoo!}.

111 Comments

Hi Maria! They should work with most nibs; the fit just may not be as ideal for some. For example, you may not be able to get a small nib (like the Brause EF66) to line up with the imaginary center line on the pen. You just unscrew the little screw on the flange, insert the nib, then screw to tighten!